Book Review Of Buddhist Nirvana And Its Western Interpreters

Page 8

BOOK REVIEW 403 4 On p. 194, n. 1 Welbon states that revised editions of Oldenberg's Buddha appeared in 1890, ca. 1894, 1904, 1914 and just after Oldenberg's death in 1921. He adds that for much bibliographical assistance, he is indebted here and elsewhere to Shinsho Hanayama, Bibliography on Buddhism. Welbon seems not to be aware of the many inaccuracies of Hanayama's work. In his Nachwort to the 13th edition of Oldenberg's Buddha (Stuttgart, 1959, 457-8) Helmuth von Glasenapp has briefly studied the successive editions. Oldenberg has revised the second (1890), third (1897), fourth (1903), fifth (1906), sixth (1914) and seventh (1920) editions. On p. 209 Welbon mentions Oldenberg's excursus (sic) on the term upadisesa in the first edition. He makes a few suppositions to explain the fact that it is not reprinted in later editions (p. 213), but has not consulted the preface of the second edition in which Oldenberg explains why he has omitted the three excursus of the first edition (p. VIII). 5 For biographical details Welbon seems to have consulted only Paul Masson-Oursel's obituary (JA(1938), 287-90). According to this source de La Vallee Poussin attended the University of Liege from 1881 to 1888 (from his twelfth to his nineteenth year). It was there that he was introduced to Sanskrit and Pali by Charles de Harlez and Philippe Colinet. Ludo Rocher has already drawn attention to the unlikelihood of this information and adds: "We prefer to believe that he attended Liege university from 1888 until he went to Paris at the age of 22" (JAOS 90 (1970), p. 590). It is not clear on which source Rocher bases his belief. According to reliable sources of information de La Vallee Poussin studied from 1884 to 1888 at the University of Liege. From 1888 to 1890 he studied Sanskrit, Pali and Avestan under the direction of Charles de Harlez and Philippe Colinet at the University of Louvain (cf. Marcelle Lalou et Jean Przyluski, 'Notice necrologique de Louis de La Vallee Poussin', Melanges chinois et bouddhiques VI (1939), 5-10; Etienne Lamotte, 'Notice sur Louis de La Vallee Poussin', Annuaire de l'Academie royale de Belgique (1965), 145-68). 6 Curiously enough, Welbon does not mention at all de La Vallee Poussin's translation of the Kosa, undoubtedly his greatest contribution to Buddhist studies. ry careless in quoting French and German words, for instance 'trachenden' (p. 207), 'philosophumene' (p. 260, n. 28), 'besoin' for 'soin' (p. 283), 'Revue de l'Histoire des Religions' (p. 309). 45_68). Abbreviations: JA - Journal Asiatique, Paris. JAOS - Journal of American Oriental Society, New Haven. JASB - Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta.